Just recently I learned that one of the Tasar’s we previously owned “Sneaky Sailing System” is no longer. Not through poor sailing but sitting quietly in its shed at the owners house. The problem was the shed was directly below a massive tree that decided to fall down in some windy Australian weather over the past week. The tree took out that shed and the boat all in one hit. It is a shame when I think of all the work we did prepping the boat which won many trophies for us and all three boys sailed in her at some stage. The line “look up and live” is so important and just as valid when considering where to park your boat. Good luck to the owners in finding a new boat for the summer which is only a few weeks away.
December 2, 2009
Park Your Boat Safely
November 16, 2009
Sailing Shack the new RIB
RIB & Opti enroute to a regatta
The new Sailing Shack RIB has arrived. We have upgraded to a 5.3m Zodiac that was originally built for the 2000 Olympic Games by Yachting Australia. The boat is very dry and very fast which is a good thing for a coach and photography boat. See you at the next regatta.
November 16, 2009
Born in the USA
AUS 506 sailing at Sorrento Ben Hartnett
With youngest son Lachie wanting to take up sailing this year and claiming ownership of Opt AUS 531 we needed to buy a new Opti for Ben. Much soul searching was done, reviews, web surfing to look at this purchase. In the end we decided to buy James Brewer’s McLaughlin boat AUS 506. James is one of Australia’s top Opti sailors and qualified for the worlds last year. In addition I have known his father Rob from Rob Brewer Sails for many years since our J-24 days. So the trip to Sydney was made and the boat collected and then an express trip back to Melbourne so Ben could make the Team Sorrento Coaching weekend (stuff we do for kids!). Above is a pic of the new boat which Ben has named “Born in the USA” from the Bruce Springsteen album but mostly because that is literally where AUS 506 came from.
November 15, 2009
World Masters Games
Rob Hartnett Laser Radial at World Masters Games
Last month I competed in the World Masters Games in a Laser Radial. This was a last minute exercise when my 12 year old Opti sailor Ben said “hey dad, you should do this, we’re all at school and you could have some time to yourself to sail”. He entered me and the campaign started. That was in August! So I hit the gym for a 2.5 month campaign, converted our 4.7 Laser to a Radial courtesy of Buster Hooper with the cool new Harken Laser blocks, new Hyde sail. Then the wind blew and in Melbourne we got out only three times over September. The World Masters was a blast. I caught up with many old friends, experienced paparazzi courtesy of Prince Frederik of Denmark who was sailing a Tasar, led a couple of heats, and finished 5th overall in my division. Very happy with that considering it blew 20-27 knots for seven of nine heats. Man do I have to work on going downwind faster! A big thanks to all the master Laser competitors who assisted with their advice and learning through hard practice. Vanessa Dudley was awesome downwind and just proves what time in the boat can do. Mark my buddy from Queensland who won, top job. Camilla Graves from my club Sorrento great work and well deserved second in the women’s division. I am super keen on masters and will be back again in between Opti regatta’s and work.
World Masters Games
September 13, 2009
Sunshine at Sailing Shack
Well the deep dark cloudy cold weather of Melbourne got to the Sailing Shack team as we bunkered down for a month of two and read about the hot, warm regatta’s overseas. But the sun is breaking through and we had a day of 30 degrees c on Saturday. Many regatta’s are coming up over the next few months downunder such as: World Master Games in Sydney October 12th -16th, Sail Sandy Oct 17th/18th, Sail Sorrento Coaching Weekend Oct 31 – Nov 2, Sail Melbourne and leading into the Christmas Australian and International Regatta’s.
June 18, 2009
Optimists Invade Venice
Optimists in Venice
June 10, 2009
I Just Want One
Just caught up with the specs and pics of the new Flying Tiger 7.5. What a great looking boat and the square top mainsail and kite make it look very powerful. The chines on the side are interesting and good to see some more sailing pics of the boat at http://www.hiptrader.com/images/photos/index.php/FT75. Better still can’t wait to get a sail of one in Australia.
May 10, 2009
Look for the Obvious
Pacer - Banana Split
This week saw us back at the lake at Albert Sailing Club. Light winds mean’t maximum concentration and also getting your head out of the boat. It also show demonstrated the power of photo’s. Ben raced his Optimist and had a shocking race. He had no speed all day, boat wouldn’t handle etc. Started blaming himself until we took a look at the pics after the race. Well a picture tells a thousand words. Ben had forgotten that the lake was around 2/3 full and all the other Opti’s were racing with 2/3 board down and he was racing with full board! He was slow because he was stuck in the mud for most of the race. So the lesson is if you are slow look around and check out what the competition is doing. it could be a simple thing like this.
Lachie my seven year old and I raced our Pacer and won our division and had tons of fun with the kite see above and our new Ronstan logo’s.
May 6, 2009
Ronstan New Gear
Godzilla Association Cup 2009
I visited Ronstan International headquarters during the week. They have some new additions to the Orbit block line up and the smaller Orbits will be fantastic for Opti’s, Pacers, Skiffs and even up to small offshore boats such as Godzilla above. Watch out for their new carbon tiller extensions and the new range of Puma sailing shoes which sales director and bowman extrordinaire Peter Dowdney says are exceptional. Marketing mananger Bryn Wellington took me through the new poster range which are definitely pretty cool with a focus on performance sailing. Check out http://www.ronstan.com
