Latitude
– Bass Strait on P-Plates
(Melbourne
17-Jul-2005): The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) is
introducing a new Bass Strait yacht race, targeted at people
who want to start Ocean Racing.
Melbourne’s
Port Phillip, with its sheltered waters and all year round
sailing, is one of the best places in the world to learn to
sail and, for many, provides an ideal environment for cruising
or racing. But, for those who want to step up and try ocean
racing, next door is Bass Strait, a stretch of water that
continues to command the respect of even those who have tackled
it many times.
“Getting
started in offshore racing is a steep learning curve for the
newcomer even though they may have plenty of experience sailing
in Port Phillip and the Rip certainly constitutes a huge psychological
barrier”, comments Angus Fletcher, Commodore of the
ORCV. “It’s definitely a huge hurdle to clear,
but once you’re over it the door is open to a vast array
of new and exciting sailing experiences in Bass Strait, Tasmanian
waters and beyond.”
The Latitude
Race, starting off Queenscliff at 0900 on Saturday 26th November,
is uniquely structured by the ORCV. “We designed the
Latitude Race as a quick dash into Bass Strait in daylight,
returning through Port Phillip Heads about six hours later”,
explains Mike Gill, the ORCV’s Latitude Project Manager.
“It has been timed for the yachts to go out and come
back safely through The Rip at slack water, the period of
relative calm through the entrance to Port Phillip”.
The narrow
entrance to Port Phillip, known as The Rip, is a turbulent,
seething stretch of water which separates the Bellarine and
Mornington Peninsulas. The entrance between Point Lonsdale
and Point Nepean is 3.5km wide but the reefs projecting from
these points reduce the navigable width to about 1km. Through
this narrow funnel, 1000 square kilometres of water gushes
in and out at 7 knots, four times a day. The tides have worn
a 100-metre drop - an undersea waterfall that causes the seas
to boil, even on a calm day. When a swell is running, "The
Rip" becomes the largest white-water rapids on Earth.
To help
the Bay racers safely make the step up to Ocean Racing, the
ORCV is running a support package which includes a series
of three seminars on top of their normal training program.
These seminars cover: Yacht Preparation; Crew Management and
Participating in an Ocean Race. Each skipper who joins the
Latitude program will be offered mentoring by one of the ORCV’s
many experienced Ocean Racing skippers. “Training gives
you the knowledge to be safe”, says Richard McGarvie,
the ORCV’s Mentoring Team Leader. “Mentoring gives
you the confidence to use that knowledge wisely.”
The ORCV
is holding a Latitude Briefing at 1900 on Thursday 18th August
at Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in St. Kilda. Mentors will
be allocated to skippers at this session and crews will receive
a briefing on the Latitude support package and the Latitude
Race.
To register
for Latitude, go the ORCV website, www.orcv.org.au, and fill
in the online registration form or contact the ORCV on (03)
9689 1622.
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