TUE 03 6.45am

A forecast will be available for any boat returning this week or next week.

SITUATION
No significant change from the previous forecast
The S change has cleared NSW coast and the race area; S wind turning SSE-SE today and generally SE direction tomorrow. The SE wind flow onto the NSW coast is between high pressure near Tasmania and low pressure trough on the central QLD coast. That pattern will be slow to change – the wind slowly easing from the south and slowly shifting left in direction from SSE to SE then ESE.

WEATHER
Frequent showers along the far north coast of NSW and SE QLD coast – scattered showers on the remainder of the NSW coast with little change in the pattern for the next 48 hrs.

CURRENT
strong adverse current near the coast around Smoky Cape and Cape Byron; strong adverse current out near the shelf elsewhere.

TUE 03
FORECAST (wind speed in knots is average, gusts will be higher, particularly around passing showers)
32S-30S
WIND SW-S/15-25 inshore and S/20-25 offshore in the morning. SSE-SE/15-20 inshore and offshore in the afternoon.
Easing to SE-S-SW/10-15 at night near the coast; remaining SE/14-18 offshore
WAVES 1.5-2m waves ; 1.5m SSE swell

30S-28S
WIND S-SE/24-28 easing to SE/20-25 at night
WAVES 1.5-2m waves; 1.5m SSE swell

Like the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet’s quick push south in record time, the Club Marine Pittwater to Southport line-up is set to also enjoy tailwinds after taking a left hand turn out of Broken Bay tomorrow.

The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club will set a start line to the north of Palm Beach headland at 1pm on Monday January 2, 2017 and send the fleet to cover a course length of 370 nautical miles to the Queensland Gold Coast and Southport Yacht Club, which will welcome and host close to 200 sailors.

Bureau of Meteorology weather services manager Jane Golding says a front is expected to run up the NSW coast passing Sydney later afternoon or evening on Sunday January 1, 2017, followed by a spell of SE winds that will hit the NSW coastline.

A high pressure system is likely to follow the front and at the same time a tropical monsoon trough and low pressure will be on the central QLD coast. Between these two weather systems the SE wind will be stronger on the northern NSW coast.

Respected yachting meteorologist  Roger Badham is supporting the Bureau in terms of supplying specialised race forecasts and he’s predicting a fast race with S-SE winds of 20-25kts easing to 10-15kts on the Hunter and Mid North Coast and likely to remain SE 20-25kts at the NSW-QLD border areas.

This is great news for the lightweight, wide and the planing boats that love running-reaching conditions, and not so great for the narrower and heavier hulls that sail closer to their handicap rating when pushing into headwinds.

Skipper of the Elliott 10.5 High Anxiety, Marcus Grimes, said, “We would be ecstatic if ‘Clouds’ Badham's forecast holds and the more east in the southerly the better, to help us against the symmetrical boats. Our sweet spot is broad reaching. 

SUN 01   8am

Forecast for the the Pittwater to Southport race; it will be updated tomorrow, MON 02 at around 7am

The forecast will be sent by email and a second email will include some routeing for yachts of around 38 feet, 40 feet and 42 feet.

If you want to receive some grib files for the race area, then please let me know.

SITUATION

SUN 01  Softer SE-NE in the morning and NE/10-15 afternoon. A few showers developing during the afternoon.

RACE SUMMARY

MON 02 

A S change of 25-30 kts expected to run up the NSW coast early morning passing Sydney at around 6am

Wind S/20-25 on the coast that afternoon with S-SSE/25-30 offshore.

The front will be most active with showers and local thunderstorms during the later afternoon and night when on the north coast of NSW.

SAT 31   8am

Forecast for the the Pittwater to Southport race; it will be updated tomorrow, SUN 01, in the morning and then on the morning of the race start on TUE 02 by 7am

SITUATION

SAT 31   A weak S-SE change this morning and a few thunderstorms, mostly inland, this afternoon and evening. 

SUN 01  Softer SW-SE in the morning with showers on coast and also inland. Wind will shift back to the NE-N tomorrow afternoon.Sat

MON 02 

A strong S change of 20-30 kts expected to run up the NSW coast early morning.

Wind S-SE/20-25 on the coast that afternoon with S-SSE/25-30 offshore.

The front will be most active with showers and local thunderstorms during the later afternoon and night when on the north coast of NSW.

Roger Badham's prediciting a good southerly breeze for the Club Marine Pittwater to Southport Yacht Race. It's unseasonable to have this weather pattern but for the competitors it will be a major welcome making it a fast race which should see some spectacular sailing! 

SITUATION

A front is expected run up the NSW coast passing Sydney later afternoon/evening on Sunday 1st followed by a spell of SE winds onto the NSW coast.

The front is expected to move up all the NSW coast.  

High pressure will follow the front to Bass St and at the same time a tropical monsoon trough and low pressure will be on the central QLD coast.

Between these 2 weather systems, The SE wind will be stronger on the north NSW coast during the race period.

FORECAST  (weather, rain, wind, sea)

MON 02   

SYDNEY-HUNTER: fairly cloudy, shower or 2, SE/15-20, 2m sea/swell

TUE 03  

MID NORTH COAST:  partly cloudy, shower or 2, SE/12-16

FAR NORTH COAST:  partly cloudy, shower or 2, SE/15-20 

SE QLD:  mostly cloudy, few showers, SE/20-25

WED 04

FAR NORTH COAST:  mostly cloudy, few showers, SE/20-25

SE QLD: cloudy, rain, SE/20-25

THU 05

SE QLD:  cloudy with rain and possible thunderstorms

This year’s Club Marine Pittwater to Southport Yacht Race will feature a daily weather report three days prior to the start provided by world renowned meteorologist, Dr Roger Badham or “Clouds” as he is known in sailing circles.

Complementary to the Bureau of Meteorology’s overall weather forecast, competitors will have access to these tailored reports from Roger’s 40 years of expertise in studying weather patterns of the east coast of Australia.

 “I’ve worked with the RPAYC and the Coffs Race for around 40 years, racing to Southport will present added challenges so it will be well worth doing some extra homework for the race.” said Roger.

Trying to juggle wind forecasts, weather patterns, warm water currents and potentially dodging summer storms can cause headaches for the competitors. Having a plethora of weather information readily available can make it tough filtering through all the content to make the right decisions.Sunset. photo by High Anxiety

Roger’s reports aim to take this guesswork out the equation and simplifies the information with a directional approach providing competitors with topics to focus on paying particular attention to the course of the race.

In a previous article we spoke about the importance of the hydration in a long ocean race but in this article Tana talks us through the benefits of snacking and eating “good” carbs.

Firstly, what are “good carbs?”

A simple Google search will tell you that carbohydrates are pretty much in everything we eat but there are good carbs and not so good carbs. Good carbs are simply carbs from fruits, wholegrains, seeds which provide a sustained energy release rather than a quick sugar fix which give you a high and a low.

In an ocean racing scenario you’re looking at sustained energy to keep you focused for longer and push through those long stints on the rail. The key to this sustained energy there are are two factors, constant snacking and eating the right carbohydrates.

Constant snacking.

Why snacking? Well, a big issue with ocean racing is that you are always busy and sometimes eating can be pushed down the priority list. By doing this your body starts to crave really energy rich foods to replenish the energy lost from the lack of eating. You may already know that after a long ocean race with no food you come back to shore with a craving to head down to the local burger shop.

Eating big meals takes up a lot of energy to digest giving you less energy to perform. It’s best to try and avoid this by grazing throughout the race. Keep snacks in your jacket pockets and skippers can constantly remind their team to graze to help keep up the energy levels.

Fact: Sumo wrestlers tend to eat 2 meals a day. One lunch and one dinner and skip breakfast. They eat till they feel sick then nap to ensure they don’t “burn” too much of what they ate.

NoR Appendix C – Satellite Phone, Radios & Installation requirements
The following requirements add to the requirements of the AS Special Regulations Part 1 for Category 2 races.

1. All boats shall carry a functional Satellite Phone that has message receiving capability and has coverage for the duration of the race and will either be connected to mains power or have a spare battery.
All phones must be capable of sending and receiving SMS Text messages and telephone calls.
The telephone number for the Satellite Phone must be submitted in the Boats Entry Form and details of the phone submitted on the Satellite Phone Declaration Form available on the event website.

2. All boats shall have installed VHF radios which must be capable of transmitting and receiving on:

VHF – Channels 16, 19, 22, 67 (Weather/Navigation Warnings), 72, 73, 77, 78, 80 and 81.
Emergency aerials (VHF) are required, and they must have their mounting brackets and cabling permanently installed.
Boats shall provide the OA a valid Radio Inspection Certificate (VHF) certified by a Marine Electrician or qualified Radio Technician, to verify the adequacy of the installation and operation of the radio.
Boats sailing shorthanded must carry an extra portable VHF radio receiver / transmitter or an extension speaker near the helming station.

3. All boats must carry a fully charged mobile phone (3G or 4G), with the number submitted in the Boat’s Entry Form with the Organising Authority.

4. Boats using HF Radios as a means of emergency communication in addition to the boats Satellite Phone and VHF radio must be capable of transmitting and receiving on:

HF - Channels 4125khz, 4483khz, 6215khz, 6516khz, 8176khz (Weather/Navigation Warnings), 8291khz or 12290kHz during day light hours and Distress and calling frequencies.
Emergency aerials (HF) are required, and they must have their mounting brackets and cabling permanently installed.
Boats using HF Transmitters shall provide the OA with a valid Radio Inspection Certificate (HF) certified by a Marine Electrician or qualified Radio Technician, to verify the adequacy of the installation and operation of the radio.

Pre-race: Satellite Phone check & HF Radio check

All Boats must carry out a pre-race Satellite Phone check between 28th December 2016 and 1st January 2017 with the Race Committee.
The boat Owner or Person-in-Charge shall contact the Race Committee by sending a text message to +61 427 477 854, stating the boats name, sail number and skippers name, if received a reply of “Received” will be sent to the phone number (note the number used MUST be the one listed under Satellite phone in the Boats Entry form and on its Satellite Phone Declaration form.

Boats using HF radios for emergency communications must carry out a pre-race radio check between 27th December 2016 and 1st January 2017 with Charleville Radio (managed by Kordia). All such boats shall carry out their pre‐race Radio check on 4125, 6215, 8291 kHz or 12290 kHz during day light hours.

The boat owner or person in charge shall first make contact with Kordia by telephone prior to testing on 02 6230 7463.
A minimum of 3 x 3 strength/readability on two of the radio frequencies must be met for the Kordia operator on shift to pass the radio check.

During the Race
Boats must maintain a 24-hour listening watch for the duration of the race on VHF Channel 16.
For radio communications, a boat’s name may be abbreviated to no more than two words. The Race
Committee may alter boat names, where appropriate, for radio and satellite phone communications.
 

Chris from Kranks Transport Services is providing the baggage service to Southport.  If you have done the Sydney to Hobart or Sydney to Southport from the CYCA in the last ten years you may have used their services.

Kranks  will need to get confirmation from each yacht as to whether you are planning to use their service. This to ensure that they the right size vehicle to carry everyone's gear.

Could you please email Chris with an approximate list of items you plan to send with us with particular note to any large or heavy items such as RIBS or delivery mains.

If you could also let Kranks know if you have made other arrangements that would be appreciated.

Please note Krnaks will only be able to guarantee cartage for crews that confirm they will be using us prior to December 19th 2016.

Kranks are also looking being able to provide a return service (to RPAYC only) in the unfortunate event of retirement as we are planning on staying in Southport for a couple of days.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call.

Chris

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

0414784649

Kranks Transport