Introducing The Boat Formally Known As.....

Farewell Depth Charge, now settled into her new home in Lauderdale no doubt. Here are a couple of pics of Depth Charge in full flght at the Nationals as well as a sneak peak at the new girl.....

Have I got a deal for you, Depth Charge sold, new boat bought

That's right, Depth Charge has found a new home here in Tassy, sold to a keen NS14 sailor. A new boat named 'happy holly' (not for long) is awaiting her new skipper up in Gosford, road trip here we come. A few more rigging dramas saw DC have to retire from 2 races. Just 30 minutes after selling the ole girl, she would show her skipper what she thought of being prostituted off to Tassy by cart wheeling around the second mark while beating 6 other tigers. After rolling completely over the fight was on to keep her from losing her rigging. Minutes later an exhausted skipper pulled her from the water only to have the windward hull come crashing down onto his head. Finally laying on the tramp, completely knackered, I rolled over to see a rescue boat with a video camera.....Oh dear.

Not a scratch on the ole girl, but retirement was inevitable with a slight concussion and a bruised ego.

on a happier note big Russ came home a screaming 4th in race 7 and very nearly got third, go you Wop head, go!

You're not going to sail with your rudder like that are you Mitch?

Oh dear.... Just a couple of hours before the start of Race 5 it was discovered that the Race 1 crash had in fact split the starboard rudder in half. As always in the Paper Tiger's, the guys would be happy to source me a rudder to borrow (big thanks Alex) and DC would brave the water again.

Well, that is a big hole isn't it?

After returning to the beach after race 4, Depth Charge would immediately be inspected for damage. Upon tipping her over, the keel line crack had worsened and the centerboard casing had split.
Using the Russell Jolly measurement system of "how many sponges did you get out of it Mitch?" We would find a comparison of 4 sponges in the port hull compared with 27 in the starboard.

With a lay-day in hand, Depth Charge would go in for surgery. Dr Chris Mundy (AKA legend bloke) would perform the Fibreglass surgery along with a healthy dosage of sicaflex in the centerboard casing. The traveller car repaired with new cleats and the halyard eyelet also repaired, Depth Charge was ready to take on the world again........ Or so we thought.......

Broken boats and Broken dreams...

Race 3:

Nev didn't even get to the start-line before Mr Percival had a rudder stock tear off the back off, meaning he would miss the entire days racing. Big Russ would wave the flag for the SA team coming in mid field. As for Depth Charge, the starboard hull was taking on more water than the Titanic with the leak getting worse. A poor start and a blown traveller car would see Depth Charge limp home in last position.

Race 4:

Russ again would be the flag waver for the 'heaps good' state, with the race starting immediately after the conclusion of Race 3. No repair times and a fast filling hull meant Depth Charge was as docile as the skipper. With a damaged boat and the wind picking up, Depth Charge would retire from the Race.

No time to blog, SA Boys sailing, crashing and breaking!

RACE 1:

Quiet conditions greeted the Tiger fleet, only a few knots of breeze made for slow sailing. Another general recall meant the fleet were are little shy on the restart, though all 3 SA boys jumped through to a great start, Nev was 10th to the first bouy with Mitch in tow in 12th, Russ a little further back but would carve through the field. Rounding the second mark Depth Charge was flying and catching the top ten quickly. On rounding the mark, Depth Charge was caught in dirty air and was hit from behind by a charging Tiger, the 2 boats now stuck together. The resulting separation put Depth Charge last, but not out. 'DC' would finish 23rd, Mr Percival would finish a flying 14th with big Russ 16th. No damage to Depth Charge post collision, though the other boat had bow damage.

Race 2:

Winds up to 18 knots would great the fleet late in the race, with quieter conditions to start the race. All 3 SA boys would get cracker starts, with Depth Charge nipping at the heels of the top ten at the second mark only to have the organic part of the boat have a complete brain fade and mount the back of another tiger like an AFL footballer. No damage to either boat, but Depth Charge would have to complete a penalty turn during the next leg. The final result was 22nd for Depth Charge with the other SA boys not faring much better. Once at shore we would discover a serious leak in the starboard hull of Depth Charge, resulting in a 100 mile an hour tape repair required.

Races 3 and 4 results to come, a hot tip...don't get your hopes up.....sigh.

Greetings From The Nationals!

Well the official racing kicks off today with two long races. Yesterday saw the first opportunity for Team SA to hit the water in the invitational long race. All 3 SA Tigers hit the water early after all successfully passing measurement and weigh in. With only 10 seconds to go before the start, the fleet barged up to the line, Nev on 'Mr Percival' and Mitch on 'Depth Charge' came flying in high onto the line while Big Russ started further back. Kamakazze Mitch fired in between the committee boat and another Tiger in a bold attempt to get across the line first, only to be pinched up and pushed over the line early along with several other boats causing a general recall. The restart saw both Nev and Russ get off the line well, while Mitch 'learn how to use your fancy watch you idiot' Wiley missed the start by over 1 minute courtesy of missing the 5 minute warning. 18 to 20 knot winds kept all skippers busy with Nev carving through the fleet to finish 14th, Big Russ retiring and Mitch finishing 20th. Lessons learned and boats in good working order will hopefully see a successful return to the water for the SA Skippers. Images to come.