Hi Everyone

Was chatting to Justus over the weekend and we thought it would be a good idea to do a fun race at the bay sometime...

What we need is neap tides and a nice SW over a weekend. It'll just be a simple two buoy figure-8 type thing... any kit goes and everyone in every race.

The durban leg of the national slalom tour is happening in december so it'll be good practice for then and good fun for anyone that hasn't done races. Keep an eye on this spot and we'll try to call it during the week.

sounds good ..

OK, very early days but the guru is suggesting that Sun might have some SW winds. Tides are springs but should fill in by midday so this is an early call for possible weekend slalom.

First possible race at 1pm, skipper's meeting 12.30pm - be rigged by then. According to the format above - figure-8 slalom - two buoys, two laps, any kit goes, everyone in every race, any skill level.

Book the time on your calendar now and will update on Wed afternoon and final call on Sat. If you want to be notified, post your cell number here and I'll sms you.

Help with photographers, race setting (ie buoy placement), taking down positions and prize sponsoring welcome, contact me.

Guru update can't decide when the front will arrive but I still think Sunday is looking positive. Will update again on Friday afternoon and make a final cal Sat afternoon.

hi all,

Whats the conditions like at the bay, the last time I went down there i nearly got taken out by a truck,

If you are going to do this i will make a turn.
G

Hi Gramps, good to hear from you.

Can't report first hand but what I hear from Justus is as follows-

There is still a small group that sails there occasionally- Joan, Tony and one or two others... Mike perhaps? Anyway, the venue is very basic- no structures or facilities really and mostly used by fisherman but it is accessible and technically still under boardsailing club control so should not be a problem to use it.

Main thing will be long grass and the truck lottery. I'm afraid we'll only know on the day but I think it's worth a try. When we raced there for the 2008 wave/slalom tour it worked very well.

Will make final call on Sat. Forecast is up and down but SW is usually fairly reliable for the bay. By my reading the tides should be deep enough around 12-12.30 depending on fin length.

cool. keep us in the loop. I'm sure Rose will be avail to take photo's

Is vetch's not an option?. There are plenty of soccer fans around in Durban at the mo'
Be cool if we were all seen sailing around in front of uShake

Oh.. forgot.. SW is offshore at Vetch's. ( maybe a plan B then..)

Yup, you can sail offshore at Vetch's on SW but running slalom races is a mission++ because you need a boat etc etc. So let's stick with the bay and hope the container trucks play ball.

I see the guru can't decide whether it wants to bring the front in sun arvie or mon morning but considering these things usually arrive earlier rather than later I think sun is a pretty good bet.

OK, I'm calling it on. I'll try to get to the bay by about 12 and, as I said above, we can start racing at 1pm. See you all there. All welcome, this will be very casual and low key but hopefully fun and good experience.

Give me a call if anyone has any questions. If there are any problems (eg. access or tides or something) I'll try to post here as soon as I hear otherwise just give me a call to find out.

James
083 658 1787

Great day. Good call Jamo. await full report and results ....

Gramps you need to work on those gybes. You are like a drag racer. fast in a straight line but a bitch to turn.
Ralph you need to work on your rigging time. Even Grant magage to arrange his cams in under an hour.

Thanks to all those who made the effort. It was good fun !
The Bay site lives on ...

those gybes got me every time

that was great fun, great call James, we must do that again.

now i am going to watch gybing by Jem Hall next time will be game on

G

Hey, thanks guys, that was a great day. Lots of fun and boy I'm stiff today.

So, what happened? Well, it was a good turnout, I think and we managed to hold 8 races including a couple of practice runs and even accommodating Ralph's tuning runs.

Weather was good with a decent SW... a bit gusty (welcome to the bay) but probably gusting to about 18 knots at times but most of the time averaging around 13-15 I would think. We raced from the beach just upwind of the stairs, out around a buoy and back - 3 gybes and finish upwind of the near buoy.

Races were great fun, in good spirits and with plenty of spills, healthy competition and banter and enough variability in kit, wind, skill levels etc to make it interesting.

Pity Reuben couldn't stick around for the racing and Ike could only join us for the last few races but otherwise it was fairly consistent. Justus had kit failure which made him compete hopelessly underpowered on a 5.8.... well done for sticking it out.

I've posted the results in the attached table. Well done to Ralph for sorting us out but we're hot on your heels, buddy, better watch out. Close battle between Grant and Cliff as well.

I've scored it as 0 points for a win (little bonus for winning), otherwise positional points with a no finish or no compete as max points... winner is lowest overall. I think this works and encourages everyone to participate in every race. No discards at this stage... that's a bit complex for my brain but we can play with them later perhaps. Sorry if I got someone's position wrong... but it's all about fun anyway and all results subject to discussion and bribery.

Good fun guys and thanks for coming. Hope to do a few more once the windy season is upon us, watch this space.

In addition, the bay surprised us.... we weren't sure what to expect. Sure, it's messy and stuff but it seems port security is looking after the place now and well done to Justus for getting them on our side on this one. The venue felt safe and very friendly for racing. Let's hope it stays like that and we can do a few more.

Thanks for the help getting rigged up after my late arrival Cliff and Ralph! Glad that I could join in, and I'm keen for more if Rose is happy for me to borrow her board Cliff?:) Have you got any more of those lying around Grant?

Isaac

Well done guys, can't believe u let that useless oke win!!!! PE is just around the corner so keep up the training!! We are going to have a master blaster/ fun/ beginner division at our PE event for the not so serious(Ralph you do not qualify!!!). We are hoping to get a lot of the guys from Mac to come join us, so it is going to be a blast!!!