SID Newsletter August 08
Dalkey Picnic
The annual
SID outing to
There was a good turnout, with 5 dinghies and the rescue boat and full
complements on both Obsession and Ruffin’It. We were
lucky
with the weather, with
sunshine all day, although we had to fight a rather stiff breeze on the way
down.
There were
some eccentricities ...
The dinghy crews made
landfall and had lunch on the island, followed by the traditional game of
football and a walk over to the seaward
side. The keelboat
people, who were reluctant to get their feet wet, lunched on board, and watched
wistfully from a distance.
Dinghy training
sessions
Four dinghy training sessions took place
in July, with 11 trainees. Thanks to Damien, Jo, Nicola, Martina,
Nigel, Sheenagh and Wyn for
instructing.
The first Wednesday was devoted to boat rigging and capsize
drill and leaving and approaching the slip. The second session, on Wednesday July
16th was conducted on land, due to adverse weather conditions, with a bit more
rigging practice and demonstrations of tacking and gybing
technique. The following Sunday was an interesting exercise in survival, with
winds of around F4. However, we had good conditions on Wednesday 23rd, and were
able to get in some spinnaker practice.
The feedback from the participants was very positive, with the main complaint
being about the weather, something that the captains are clearly going to have
to do something about...
Trapezing, spinnaker, gybing,
coming alongside, theory and taking more responsibility for the rescue boat
were also mentioned as things people would like to do more of. Several people
were planning to take a formal dinghy course in the near future;
For those who want to improve their skills further, the Irish National Sailing
Club are offering good value
for dinghy, powerboat and keelboat courses. The SID website also has information on the skills that dinghy sailors with
the club should possess.
The instructors stressed that the participants should now take a more active
role in the dinghy sessions from now on, including things like preparing the
powerboat and doing the logs, tides, weather, etc. There should also be a
discussion about the role of vice captains.
Lottery
Thanks to the efforts of Martina, Damien, Peter and Colm, SID has once again obtained funding
from the National Lottery (perhaps we might consider actually buying a ticket
sometime...)
Here is a slightly edited report from Martina:
Operation SID club container:
At the start of this
year...as it was winter...some SID people got in action to take part at the
2008 sports capital program, this time
for an additional container as was discussed on the last AGM. The 2008 Sports Capital Program was advertised
in the national
press on Sunday 13th and Monday 14th January 2008. The deadline for receipt of
applications was 5pm on Friday 29th February 2008.
We started to collect some things as :
Meetings and discussions had to be made
with the
Supporting
letters had to be organized from : DLHC, ISA, DLRCOCO,
DMYC, NYC, GISC.
An architects statement, kindly signed from
Roger Hofler, my boss and some drawings had to be
provided
3 quotations for anti vandal containers
had to be obtained
The form had to
be filled out
Last but not least it had to be posted
before the deadline which was a thrilling thing as the main supporting letter
and permission from DLHC was issued on the last day...
and the result came today
with ............6,500 euro lottery grant
Many thanks to : Damien, Peter, Colm
The next steps will be to discuss size and location
with DLHC and then order a new insulated container which could get used as a
changing room and a lecture room. Any
support from some carpenters in the club is welcome,
to make some benches/shelves....when the size is fixed. The old container could
be our storage and maintenance workshop container.
Alternatively, we could get a jacuzzi,
or a rooftop bar...
SID
Abroad
The August Bank Holiday weekend saw the first overseas trip by a SID boat. Simon was the skipper,
with Carlos, Cearbhall, Martina, Peter and Thea as crew.
We met
up on Friday evening to check Obsession and stock up on supplies. Thea was in charge of the shopping, with the consequence that
we lived almost exclusively on chocolate for the next three days. After spending
the night on board (another first for Obsession since she joined SID) we set
off in the general direction of Carlingford.
Following
some early adventures with the spinnaker and the reefing lines (don't ask) we
rounded the Ben of Howth and headed north.
The
plan, given the wind direction forecast, was to sail a triangle from
Since
the tides in Carlingford Lough
would not permit an early departure on Sunday, we decided to make for Port
Oriel instead
(slightly
to the south of Carlingford). We arrived in the tiny harbour at around 7 pm and tied onto the outermost of three
large
trawlers,
which dwarfed Obsession. An expedition was dispatched to the nearby village to
secure further supplies and beer and we banqueted on board (yet another first).
Thanks to the passing fishermen for the beautiful
fresh
mackerel they gave us....
We
left early on Sunday with a favourable wind and gybed our way across to Port St Mary on the Isle of
Man, arriving at the local hostelry to discover (a) that we were just in time
for last orders and (b) that we didn't have any local currency. It takes more
than that to keep an Irishman from his pint, however, and ingenuity prevailed
in the end
We set
off at 5am on Sunday, setting 3 hour watches to allow people to catch up on
their sleep, and despite dire weather predictions, had a fairly easy, if long
trip back to Dublin.
Dinghy racing
Congratulations to our dinghy sailors for their performance in July.
Simon and Ruben who came first in the race on
Tuesday 8th July.
Simon and Jane came first on Tuesday 15th July.
Simon and Brenda came first on Tuesday 29th July.
From these results we can deduce that having an "n" in your name is a
big plus when racing dinghies, while having an "o", an "i" an "m" and an "s" is essential
if you are helming.
Ruffian racing
Ruffin’It has been racing regularly on Tuesdays and
Thursdays in the DBSC. As of July 15th we were placed
8th out of 25 boats in the
Ruffian 23 class, with a total of 23 points, before retiring hurt on the 17th which brings us to...
Ruffian Mast
Ruffin It had a slight contretemps
in the race on July 17th. Here is Peter's account of the incident.
On July 17th last Martina, Mags,
Our first target for the evening was to get a good start and to be in the first
half of the Ruffian fleet to cross the start line. It was a
MacLir start so we headed straight for her to ensure
we were well positioned for the start gun. We started well and were right up
there
jostling for position with the rest of the Ruffians as we crossed the line The
race went well for us and as we rounded the first two marks, we were happy to
have two Ruffians behind us as we sailed close-hauled on a port tack at about 5
to 6 knots on a long upwind leg. Suddenly we had a what I can only describe as
a WTF moment when everything on the boat seemed to collapse in a mess of sails,
halyards, stays and our mast had broken in half just above the spreaders. The
top part had fallen to leeward onto the deck and had come to rest in the companionway
of the cabin.
Once we composed ourselves we able to establish that all aboard were safe and
uninjured. We were fortunate to have an experienced and level headed crew who
managed to make the boat safe, get everything out of the water. We were then
able to start the engine and come in under our own steam. It was a bit
hairy in a F4 to F5 and a lumpy sea to try and rig a temporary forestay to the
broken mast and reduce the main sail area as much as possible as it was still
firmly clamped in the broken mast. We received lots of offers of help from
other racers and no doubt we were a focus of attention with many photographs
taken.
On our return we came alongside the marina and managed to de-rig and remove the
broken mast. We brought the Ruffian back on the mooring where it lies looking a
little sheepish without its mast or standing We finally made it to the Purty just in time for chowder and a well earned pint
Dismasting is a pretty dramatic event usually occurs without warning when boat
is under stress. The following are some things to think about and perhaps help
prepare for such an eventuality:
Suggested action in the event of dismasting:
Ensure no crew have been knocked overboard.
Confirm if any crew are injured and establish severity of injury
Consider VHF Mayday call if crew injured
Remember that the VHF aerial is likely to be damaged and a backup aerial may
need to be rigged
Assess damage to boat in case hull has been damaged and boat is taking water
Consider VHF Mayday call if boat is badly damaged
Ensure all the ropes, shrouds; sails are out of the water before starting
engine.
Use bolt cutters if necessary to cut away shrouds or stays
Start the engine once water is clear of ropes or anything that could foul the
propeller
Assess safety of damaged mast as temporary stays or shrouds may need to be
rigged to hold mast in place
If sail area needs to be reduced it may be possible to remove boom or release
out haul and lash sail to mast to reduce fl\apping
and putting additional forces on damaged mast.
Things to consider:
Bolt cutters should be readily available and its location known to all the
crew.
Have a spare VHF aerial ready to rig in the event the aerial gets broken?
And Finally...
Congratulations to Ralph and Niamh on the new arrival