Dec 2013 Issue - the Aberdeen Boat Club

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Race reportThe sun rising over Hebe Haven (by Tim Edmonds)The ABC Sailors Hold Sway inHebe Haven 24-hour Dinghy RaceBy Diana BruceThe 11th annual Hebe Haven YachtClub 24-hour charity dinghyrace over the weekend of 26-27October fell one week after a typhoonand about the time the northeastmonsoon started to arrive from China.The ABC entered three teams againthis year: a Feva team with our youngFeva and Oppie sailors; a Wayfarer teamwith our young 29er sailors; and a Laser2000 team for adults. In total, 35 sailorsfrom the ABC were up at Hebe Haven,raising money for charity as well asrepresenting the Club.The race began exactly at 2 pm onthe Saturday afternoon and carried onthrough Saturday evening, the wee hoursof Sunday morning, into dawn and thepromise of a fine day ahead, until exactly2 pm on Sunday afternoon.For those of you who have neverbeen to the event, the boats are sailed for24 hours non-stop with relays of sailorstaking turns – usually about two hours ata time – to keep the boats moving. Whileit sounds hard to be out on the water at2 am on a Sunday morning, in fact it’samazing to sail at night, although with theambient glow from the city lights and ashaft of moonlight every now and then,it’s really not dark!The race began with much promise,both from a wind point of view andpositioning, especially for the ABC Fevateam who soon took pole position in theirclass and seventh overall.However, as the race progressed,the average lap time slipped. TheLaser 2000 made a brave startamongst a huge fleet of 43 boats anda very narrow start line, managing tosail eight or nine laps in the first shift– probably the record for the wholeevent for that time. The Wayfarer guyswere way out ahead – the rest of uswere just left in the marine equivalentof dust behind them.But by 6 pm, the wind was dyingfast and the third and fourth shiftsprobably felt that watching paint drywould have been more exciting thaninching round the course. At one stagethere were about 30 boats all bunchedtogether at the same mark, bobbingabout and hoping the tide wouldn’t carrythem backwards.The forecast blast of 10-12 knots at3 am never materialized – did we reallythink it would? Just wishful thinking onthe part of the organizers, I think! TheWayfarer team were still ahead of thefleet, but by only a few seconds, so thepressure was on them to stay on course.They really pulled out all the stops, ablyassisted by some of the very youngOppie sailors who were perfect as crewas their weight matched the lightness ofthe airs.Sleep-sailingSpecial mention should be made here ofCharlie Stewart and Russell Aylsworthhere – they were pretty well “sleepsailing,”crouched down almost inside theforward hatch to keep their weight as farforward as they could!The Feva team, meanwhile, wereworking overtime to keep their boatsailing – I shall have an abiding memoryof Harriette Edmonds and Scarlett Lorinstruggling to wake up at 3:30 am fortheir next shift – but they did and rushedoff to the pontoon with a surprisingamount of enthusiasm!P.12
The Laser 2000 team, manned bysome seasoned 24-hour race sailors,managed to bring the boat up from 31stor 32nd place – Ah Kei, who had beenteaching all day on Saturday, came up inthe middle of the night, sailed his shiftand then had to be back at the Club formore teaching at 9 am. This is the sortof team spirit that makes the event soworth doing.First prize for Wayfarer CaymansIt was down to the wire at the end, withonly 20 seconds between the Wayfarerteam and the next boat (a Feva sailed bythe RHKYC) and we were all absolutelydelighted that the ABC Wayfarer, the “ABCCaymans,” took the first prize, both for theoverall position and in their class.What an achievement, and how farABC has come from 11 years ago, whenwe were just cannon fodder for all theother teams.So, many, many congratulations toeveryone involved – a magnificent effortboth on and off the water. The ABCteams together have collected nearly$40,000 for charity, which just goes toshow that not only can we sail, but wecan think of others too.In alphabetical order, my thanks go toall the ABC sailors who took part:Ah Kei, Akira Sakai, Anatole Martin,Cecile Martin, Cedric Wong, CharlieStewart, Christine Tsui, Cosmas Grelon,Diana Bruce, Frederic d’Argenlieu,George Burkett, Harriette Edmonds, JohnBerry, Julian Chawla, Julian Reed, JulietteMartin, Lucas Minne, Matthew Johnson,Matthew Wright, Michael Tsui, NagisaSakai, Natalie Berry, Nathan Bradley,Oliver Edmunds, Patrick Bruce, PenelopeMartin, Philippe de Manny, Phoebe Lam,Ralph Summers, Russell Ayslworth,Scarlett Lorin, Stephen Davies, TaylorYoung, Tomas Humi, Tristan Stewart, WinKaaka and Yann d’Argenlieu.Next I would like to thank AlisonTreasure who nobly (some may sayfoolishly) offered to help and ended uptaking charge of the Feva team. Manythanks and well done for a sterling effort!Then of course the teams would liketo wholeheartedly thank Tsai Fook forbeing with us again this year, bringingthe club junk up to Hebe Haven so wehad a comfortable and roomy team base,helping with running repairs (not so manythis year!) and being on the pontoon tosupport and cheer us on. And thankstoo to the Club for sponsoring not onlythe entry fees but also the Club junk – itmakes all the difference to the team’sspirit to have somewhere to put our stuffand sit and sleep comfortably. And wewould also like to thank Wallem for onceagain sponsoring the team T-shirts. Thisyear, by popular demand, they weremuch more stylish, white with bluetrim, so I hope to see you all wearingthem around the club for months tocome! (I still don’t see the problem withfluorescent pink …).Well done, everyone, and thanks toyou all!Scarlett Lorin and Harriette Edmonds (by Kevin Lewis)Sailing through the night (by Tim Edmonds)Happy potential sailors Carol and Toby (by Sukinem)Phoebe Lam with Patrick BruceOnly some of the ABC team (by Kevin Lewis)P.13
Page 6 and 7: General Manager’s LetterIn order
Page 8 and 9: Race reportWAGLAN 2Sunday, Novembe
Page 10 and 11: Race report2013 Tommy BahamaAround
Page 12 and 13: Race report2013 Flying Fifteen Worl
Page 16: Sailing reportFun for all: Rhea Tal
Page 19 and 20: Snooker reportHat-trick in Sight:AB
Page 21 and 22: P.19
Page 23 and 24: Pleasure Vessel Operator Certificat
Page 25 and 26: Home Wine Delivery December 2013Spa
Page 29 and 30: ABC-Recommended Sparkling Holiday W
Page 31 and 32: 2013 Seasonal Takeaway Order FormIt

Dec 2013 Issue - the Aberdeen Boat Club

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