GOOD BYE GREAT BOAT
In March A foregin owner purchased HP.. He promptly took his new acuisition sailing overseas.. Hope to see her again in SA waters one day..
HP was a great boat which took all who sailed on her on great advertures, crossed the oceans, sailed to Mozambique and Namibia, Mossel BAy and all the regular stuff. Sailed in over 50knots of wind at times.. She never let us down.. What a great boat.. We wish her new owners great sailing and destinantion with her.. Bon Voyage..

WED Night Race 10 Feb 2010
We left the harbour latish.. We got a fairly good start, unfotunately a 50 footer who was below us, but faster slowly started to sail a bit higher then the next mark casuing us to sail higher and then th rest of the fleet forcing us to sail in dirty airs for a long period of time.. This was costly.. On the downwind we worked hard to hold our position as the boat behind us was faster then us.. We worked the puffs and swell. Goood gybe, kept focussed on the next mark working the boat. We did a great rounding at the next mark and sailed a good line.. If anything we might have overstood the finish mark ever so slightly.. We came 2nd overall which was not bad. The winds topped at about 23knots, boat went well. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Dennis, Sieger, Michael and Sarel.

WED NIGHT RACE -3rd Feb 2010
Nice 10 not breeze. We were out testing our new mainsail. We got off to a good start and held our own to the "weather mark" we sailed a good downwind but ended up putting too many gybes in as we got to the leeward mark as we wanted to keep our air clear. In the end it did not pay opff and it cost us. The next leg had us sailing low as our navigator felt that the rest of the fleet was sailing too high. The result of which we ended up not laying the next mark, we lost some space here. The final beat was flukey with as taking a middle of the road course watching the water carefully.. in the end we caught up a bit with some of the boats ahead but Freedom went for the extreme left and gained on us and the rest of the fleet, leaving them to win on corrected time and us coming third. We were extremly happy with the new mainsail. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Dennis, Sarel, Kate, Gavin, Sieger and Michael. Boat peformed well.

With The Mykonos Race coming up, herewith a couple of pics from the last race... HP is the defending champion of this event......

CROCS Cont...

Race:3

With the Sunday racing being cancelled due to very windy conditions.. 50 knots plus.. we had only the Wednesday for racing leaving no chance of a discard.. The morning race was started in a light SW.. We got a good start, being a slower boat the larger yachts quickly rolled us leaving us in their "dirties", it took a while to get upto full speed again.. After this we sailed but we struggled in the lulls.. In the end we ended 11th in this race making it one of our worst races of the year.. Between races we went and anchored in Grainger Bay.

Race 4:

The breeze had freshened at about 14knots or so.. We got a good start, sailed well and managed to hold the kite on a tight reach when some of the other yachts could not... In the end we won this race quite convincingly..

Overall we can 5th. It was nice to have the full racing crew aboard.. Also nice having the full 9 aboard..

CROCS REGATTA -December 2009

CREW: Dale, Ian, Dennis, Sieger, Michael, Sarel, Deon, Riaan, Neville.
Unfortunately we did not have time to train for this event, so we approached it with the intention of having some good sailing and lots of fun, getting ourselves back into the swing of bouy racing as we do not do much of it on HP..

RACE 1:
Winds were around 20knots at the start. We got an excellent start, however as we were grinding on we sheared bolts on our genoa track and had therefore were unable to sheet in for the full startboard beat which meaned that we lost some height.. We managed to make a plan by using our outer track thereafter.. We were very rusty on the spinnaker hoist which lost us some time but we managed a good gybe in freshening breeze. We made some errors at the drop which cost us some more time. Our beats were good, but we lost out again with a "way too early drop on the next leg.. The winds peaked at about 30 knots.. boat handled well. Noticed a the guy cleats were not refitted after the respray so this was held by hand.. in the end we came 3rd in this race.. Not bad considering we were a bit rusty..

RACE 2:
After having spent around an hour anchored in Granger Bay in windless conditions, we went out to race again.. it was blowing just short of 30 knots.. We managed an excellent start but almost immediately we found ourselves over powered, this kept stalling us.. We debated and decided to put in a reef, as soon as we completed this we noted a huge tear in the main just above the reef point, so we decided to put another reef in. While we were busy with this the main tore again, leaving us no alternative but to drop the sail... We decided to continue racing, not bad since we were only a few hundred metres off the start line... We lost lots of time on the beat due to us struggling with the main.. on the downwind we took it easy.. the winds were gusting 40knots... lots of boats did granny tacks at the leeward so we made up a bit there.. On the beat we managed to sail through a faster boats lee due to them being over powered.. they passed us again on the downwind but we got through them while they grannied.. We then pulled away from them on the final leg. Most of the fleet retired due to breakages or the strong conditions.. So although we did not do well, we still maintained some points.. we came 7th in the race.

WED 9th December 2009 -FUN RACE

FLAG OFFICERS RACE - 5 December 2009
We were contacted by the Honarary treasurer to take part int he Flag Officers Race as a member of his team.. We met early to use the time to prep the boat for Crocs Raggata. We removed any unneccessary items aboard and prepared our racing inventory.. We completed some of the maintainance items aboard at the same time. Afterwhich we went out sailing. A SW was blowing, around 9-12knots.. Good start, good first leg. Unfortunately we had to dip a moving ship which allowed those behind us to catch up a bit. 3rd around the weather mark. Good Kite hoist. We sailed this leg well with one Gybe which was well executed. AL sails a lot faster then us on the downwind and got through us. On the beat we ended up tacking early which cost us two places.. We used the Code Zero on the last leg. We came 3rd on corrected time and our team came third. On board were: Dennis, Michael, Sarel, Sieger, Riaan and Dale. Boat performed well with no problems.. Deon was down before racing to help with the alteration to the traveller...

RACE 5-Wed nite
Starting in about 11knots. Got a great start, lots of speed out on the right side of the line. Soon afterwards the wind became lighter. The boats that started on the other side of the line were in a slightly different wind band. We decided to stick to our plan as the wind was bending. By the time we tacked back the boats on the other side of the course had slightly stronger breeze which helped pull them through. We managed to pull some places and distance back on the downwind leg... but not enough. We came 4th overall. Aboard were: Ian, Dale, Sieger, Michael, Sarel, Rian, Neville -Guests-Wanita and Grant Ballintine. Nice evening out on the bay.

Random pic of the new look deck.

WED NITE: RACE 4
Nice NW, unfirtunatel a bit of a soldiers course giving only one beat, we rounded the weather mark on Freedom's hip and pretty much stayed there for the entire race as there was no way of overtaking on a soldiers course unless one wants to go into a luffing duel which would in essense only worsen one' corrected times against the rest of the fleet. Boat went well. Aboard were: Dale, Sarel, Deon, Siger, Neville, Ste Jay, Mary Anne.

WED NITE:RACE 3
With Race 2 not being sailed due to it being cancelled due to strong winds...
Ian and Dale were away in China at a regatta leaving Sarel in charge. By al reports they had a 20 knot South Easter, just before the start they had a pin come loose at the gooseneck with them scurrying to rectify which they managed to do just before the start gun, unfortunately they had to fall down on the line which did not give them an ideal start. In the end they came 7th on corrected time which was not bad considering, also the times were very close. Well done. Aboard were: Sarel, Neville, Michael, Siger and Deaon.

ROUND ROBBEN ISLAND RACE
This is a pusuit race. You also get to choose whioch way to round the island which gives an interesting permentation to the whole race. Two other identical Farrs started with us. We were first out the blocks. Nice South Easter, kite up, nice sailing but we were aware of the wind switch up ahead. We sailed well but perhaps carried the kite too long before hotting up. We rounded the island well but then overstood the island giving it a too wider a berth whcih also cost. The rest of the leg was a soldiers course but we then entered a hole close tot he finish line. We were doing well at this point and well ahead of those that rounded the island in the opposite direction. We spent a long time in the hole. While this was happening the boats that rounded in the opposite direction were able to sail a lower course keeping them in good breeze the whole way. We eventually got the breeze and finished. Our position was 14th in the end. Winds were varied but the highest was mid teens. Sea was flattish. Aboard were: Dale, Michael, Siger, Massimo, Francesco, Spook, Tony. Boat performed well. No problems.

WED NITE- RACE:1, 14th October 2009
First race of the new series and of the new season. We had a reasonable start and did fairly well to the weathermark. We sailed the downwind a bit lower then the fleet with us losing out a bit as they picked up the new puffs first. Good rounding at the leeward mark with us having to concentrate on making up some time. It was lightish conditions with a slop. We struggled for dirve in the boat. In the end we managed a 4th on corrected time. Aboard were: Dale, Ian, Siger, Michael, Sarel, Neville. Boat went well.

WED NITE FUN RACE
With the new season upon us, the first Wednesday night race was a fun race(not part of the series). There was a light breeze of between 6-11knots and a bit of a slop which does not help.
We got an excellent start on the line in the best place, our sisterships were way off the mark. We managed to round the first bouy first ahead of the faster boats and poled out for Milnerton mark. The rest of the fleet rounded and tired to two sail reach for the mark, we were the only ones to use the pole which we carried till almost at the mark. We pulled a lot using the pole on the downwind. We rounded and beat back to the weather mark suffering a bit in the slop and the lulls with one of the faster boats steadily closing the gap on us.. We still managed to round weather mark first and cross the finish line first. We won on handicap. Aboard were: Dale, Ian,Dennis, Massimo, Sarel. The boat performed well. Everyone was pleased to be sailing again.

BACK SAILING
After almost 4 months of HP not sailing due to other committements and a Deck Respray job that was done at a snails pace and in fact the finishing touches are still in progress we finally did a quick " sea trial" last week in rain and about 25 knots of wind with a confused sea.. NW wind, SW swell. Boat performed well. This was followed up by an idealic sail around the new wreck on Dolphin Beach the follwing week. We experienced no problem sailing around and in fact it would make a good anchorage in the lee in certain conditions.. Boat is looking really good and feels more modern and new again... NICE

PORTUGAL DAY RACE 6 June 2009
Since the Easter regatta in SimonsTown HP has only been out once or twice socially so it was nice to get her out on the water again. The race was a pursuit race with 46 entries. A lumpy sea was running. In the starting area the winds were around 18 which was great but we felt that it would progressively drop off as we sailed further to the weather mark area which was Barker Rock. In any event, we got off the line on time at a good pace. The winds did hold off but we were able to hold our own until just past the Pavilion area where it dropped further and with our sail configuration we started to suffer especially with the sea state the way it was. We did a hitch offshore to connect with the new breeze but we had lost out a lot prior to this with the larger boats able to pull through. Good rounding of Barker and a good Kite sail back to the finish with us trying to defend our finish piosition. The boat performed well off wind in the swells. We finished up 12th which is fair considering the conditions were less then optimal for our boat. Aboard were: Siger, Ian, Michael, Deon, Sarel, Leroy, Tony C, Dale.

A Pic of the Trophies that were won over the last few months...

Pics taken by Ian Coward, the custodian of all the trophies...

DELIVERY SimonsTown to Cape Town 13/04/09
Siger provided the lift to Simonstown. It was blowing just on 20 knots from the SE in the moorings while preparing. By the time HP motored out the wind had dropped so the full main and a number 3 was raised. Rounded the Bullnose at 8am. Started to beat in about 16 knots. Just past Romans Rock the wind was up which neccessitated putting in a reef. A little while later a bolt on the Kicking strap sheared which neccesitated doing a repair. It must be noted that at this time the sea was up and the winds were just below 30 knots which had the boat awash and hanging onto the mast while doing the repair. After this HP kept on beating taking a conservative route to the point. Eventurally tacked for the point overstanding intentionally as the wave condition was up and it would allow for a better approach. The winds had risen to 35 knots and the boat was being tossed around. Eventually was able to fetch off a little which improved the motion and speed. Furtantel closer to the point the winds dropped to just under 25 knots. Rounded the point and reached off at nice speeds, less water coming over the decks. Decided to go below only to find the floor boards afloat and the bout very wet.. The casue, unbeknow the hatches were all still on breath and with the boat having a very wet sail for the 2.5 hours to the point the water was able to enter... Fortunately HP has Electric pumps as well as manuel so on with the switch. It took a long time to pump in any event. Bailed out the areas the pump does not cover and made the boat drying. Then gybed for Slangkop and reached down the costline passing the Tall Ship Europa en route as they were sailing upwind. CLosing in on Kabonkelberg tyhe wind started to die with HP having to resort to motor for the rest of the leg. Rounded the harbout wall 8 hours after start. Aboard were: Dale. Only problems was the sheared bolt on the Kicker and the water in the bildge. Great sail.

FBYC EASTER REGATTA

SAT:
This was a pursuit race witht he first boats getting off at 12h30 and us the last boat at 13h40. The course was a start, Castor, Bakoven rock, a bouy off Seal Island and finish. Winds were perfectly steady allowing nice powered up sailing. Using local knowledge we quickly started catching up en route to Bakoven rock. We hoisted the Kite and reached down to Seal Island catching more boats as they delayed hoisting as they probably felt the leg was too tight. At the leeward mark there were only three boats left to pass before Simons Town. We managed to take the lead just before Castor. As we neared the Bullnose we realized that there was no wind bekoynd that ands the little that would be found would come from another direction. We manaouvered as best as possible to get the best gain out of this. Red Bull behind us managed to maintain wind the whole way in but we managed to catch a puff just beofre them, quite near the line which allowed us to take first place. It was great sailing conditions in clean water...

SUN:
This was a Longer round the bouys race using the follwing as marks: Paddlers, Castor, Phoenix, a bouy in Fish Hoek. We had a good start putting us ahead on line almost immedaitely allowing us to focus on making up time. This we checked at each bouy and calculated. Using local knowledge we were able to pull huge gains and alwasy knew where to find the wind. This was a great race in perfect sailing conditions. We won on corrected time.

Overall we won the event. Aboard were: Ian and his brother Sean from New Zealand, Massimo, Michael, Siger and Dale. Boat performed well with no problems.

DELIVERY- Cape Town to Simons Town

Boat departed RCYC at 07h00 on the 4th April bound for Simons Town. Motor Sailed for the first section on a reasonable seaway. Just off the Llandadno region picked up a NE wind with lots of gusts, gusting just shy of 2o knots. The winds were a bit shifty off the mountains but made good speed. Halfway across the bay to Slangkop just as a Spinnaker was being considered the winds started dying off with HP back to Motor Sailing by Slangkop. In the Slangkop region had to dodge some fishing bouys.... Spent some time motor sailing up the coast. Eventually a SW wind came through starting with 20 knots which had HP skipping along gladly. It soon tapered to about 13 knots which was great for sailing. Saw Mike Horn's expedition yacht further offshore(HP went far inshore to cut distance) Called Nick Leggat their Skipper up and chatted. Offered to take some pics of them rounding Cape Point if they were keen, A rendouvouz was set up, also chatted with Phillipa Huttingh Squire.

The winds tapered back off so it was back to Motor Sailing. Closing in at the point had to dodge some of the "famous"kelp. The fog started rolling in which cut visibility to about 50 metres at times. Met up with the "big boat" a mile from the point in the fog. They followed HP towards the point(Navigated). As we got closer we could see the point and that it was not that fogged in as the area we had come from, We then proceeded to take pics in the clearing conditions. After awhile HP had rounded and needed to proceed to Simons Town and Nick and his crew needed to make good for NewZealand, so wished them well on the radion and continued for Simons Town. Plnty of wind and Squalls in the bay with HP making good speeds, the highest wind speed was just over 30 knots. HP had the wind on the beam until Millers point whereafter it shifted to the nose making the rest of the sail a gusty beat. Still, conditions were not bad in the bay and it was not cold sailing. Made Simons Town in 8.5 hours which is not a bad time considreing the amount of motoring and the headwinds, not to mention spending the extra time at the point. Packed the boat before making Berth. Tied the boat up, cleaned the boat. Michael Valcic was there for the return lift, much appreciatted. Aboard were: Dale, Boat performed well.

Pic, courtesy of Pam Newby

More pics......

MYKONOS RACE

Cape Town to Mykonos:

We started in a light breeze which picked upto about 20 knots a few hundred metres after the start. We reached the weather mark, hoisted kite and based on some local knowledge played the breeze line. Over the next few hours we changed our kite and did lots of gybes in order to keep in the breeze. Shortly after bok Point new breeze can through which had us reaching along with pole on forestay at 7.5-8 knots in flat conditions. We debated with our navigator the prime position to cross the transit at Dassen Island, navigator won the debate. The wind freed a bit as we got closer to the heads, we gybed for the heads and sailed inside Jutten catching the know breeze. Around the corner it was a two sailed fetech to the finish. All in all a great race with us finishing just after 5pm. Not bad for a 60NM race. In the end we won both legs on IRC handicap. We feel this was due to our local knowledge aboard and the constant working to "stay with it".

Bay Race:

Pursuit race having us sail all around the bay of Saldhana. We started in light breeze with us hauling some boats in a bit. The breeze got stronger at the weather mark. On the downwind we were forced tot he wrong side of the course by a starboarder which ultimately cost us the race as we sailed into a no wind zone. We were stuck there for quite some time allowing those that started after us to sail around this zone, effectively ending our chances for a good race, the rest of the race was sailed efficiently with us regaining a few positions... In the end, not a great result.

Overall we won ther Mykonos Offshore Race overall on IRC. Aboard were: Michael, Massimo, Sarel, Hans(from Dubai), Dale, Ian, Tony, Mark, Neville. The boat performed well.

The delivery return comenced straight after prizegiving with Ian, Michael and Mary Ann on the delivery crew. Ian reports a quite windless night with them motoring the whole way. The arrvied very early on Sunday morning.

All pictures courtesy of Neville Sharwood.

Benba.co.za received both the Class 1 Jack Greenacre Trophy for the NSRI Summer series, & the Girovision Cup for Class 1, Audi 2008-9 Series Overall.

WOW
HocusPocus has just won the latest Wednesday night series and in addition the overall trophy for the entire season. ie. Both Wednesday night series overall.

Well done to the crew. HP keeps together a core of crew who make this possible.

WED NITE 11 March 2009
Nice flat water and a buidling breeze. As the normal Wedneday Series had ended for us and we won it etc.. we chose to sail in a different class. We had a brilliant crew but we had not sailed fully together before with Spinnaker, nevertheless we decided that it would be fun. We started agressively, we thought that the boats around us, uncluding ourselves were over the line so we immediately tried to sail back to the line but did not hear our name called so we sailed on. Unfortunately we now had to contend with the dirty breeze from the bigger boats. This took about 3 minutes to clear so all in all we were already about 2 minutes down. We gybed on the weather mark and did a good hoist but had to contend with a small rap which was quickly resolved with a bit of handy work on the piano. On the beat it took us some time to settle down. As we settled down we started to get the boat going well with us slowly making up while trimming all the time, upwind and downwind. In the end we managed to come 3rd overall for this race. Not to bad. Aboard were: Ian, Siger, Michael, Massimo, Sandy, Elena, Raffaele, Franceco, Sarel,Dale. The only damage sustained was a mainsheet block.

Wed Nite RACE 5
A SE blowing between 17-24knots, nice flat sea. Another mundane course without true runs and only a short beat. We got a good start right on the line with speed, we managed to hold our own on the first leg. On the downwind we sailed a good line allowing us to put some distance on those behind us. On the fectch we were able to hang onto Periwinkle to within 4 boat lenths. This we held to the leeward mark. We were able to get a slightly higher bow angle on the beat and were edging our way forward. Periwinkle had a technical problem which they respolved quickly but this did allow us to sneak through. They sailed hard to try and pass us again but we still managed to cross the finish line 4 seconds ahead of them. We came first overall in this race. Giving us First overall in the series. Aboard were: Ian, Sarel, Siger, Michael, Massimo, Tony, Wanita(Guest), Dale, Neville. Boat performed well with no problems.

WED NITE Race 4.
Light breeze in the starting area. Difficult for the bridge to determine where the wind will fill in to. We got a great start, fast with clear air. did well to the first mark and held our own on the run. There was a fetch to the next mark where we again held our own and the final run which was very short. Nice sailing, nice flat seas and warm evening. We came second. On board were: Dale, Ian, MAssimo, Elena, Siger, Michael, Sarel and with NEville Sharwood making his debut with us.

WED NITE RACE #3
Nice evening, not to hot with the breeze from the NW 9-12knots. Good start but close to the wall on Starboard with boats tacking calling for water etc.. we got caught going back by a starboarder so we had to tack away. Immediately they tacked with us tacking back and the chase for the first mark. We had lost quite a bit with the extra two tacks. On the downwind we were concerned wioth the bigger boats behind so we went deep. Unfortunately we sufered here as the boats higher up got the new breeze first and increased their gap. We managed a good leeward mark rounding and worked the boat quite hard on the beat, getting us good speed and a nice wind line allowing us to pass the other two Farr 38's. In the end we got a 3rd overall which still leaves us number one on the leader board. Aboard were: IAn, Siger, Sarel, Dale, Massimo, Elena, Tony, American guest. Boat and crew performed well.

WEDNESDAY NITE RACE #2, 11 Feb 09
In the yacht basin it was howling, but the race was on. We decided to take it conservavatively using a number 4 and one reef in the main. We got an excellent start, boat was going well. In the end we got a second overall which taked us to first place overall for the series with a good points gap. Boat performed well, no problems etc... Aboard were: Ian, Dale, Tony, Michael, Massimo, Italian girl, Riaan, Siger, Sarel, Judy.

DOUBLE HANDED RACE 31st Jan 09
Aboard were Ian and Dale. To make matter more interewting Dale was Dutry Officer for the day tasked with seting the course. 40 minutesd before the start there was hardly any wind on the bay the little there was was a NE. There was wind that could be see in the SE corner, so HP went there to check it out. It looked like it was coming through but not very sure how far accross the bay it would spread. The course was set using paarden Island and Milnerton as the marks. We were concerned that if we went for Blouberg mark it might not be in position as has happened in the past and we did not have time to check if it was there. In reality it would have ben nicer for a short race and probably the only mistake made for the course setter..
With the wind filling in HP chose a position on the line that already had the new breeze, most of the boats were less fortuante and lost a lot of time getting going(1min) HP started with speed and close to the line, this advantage helped her to be first to the weather mark. On the downwind they were overhauled by most of the bigger boats. HP Sailed a consistant race with the winds ranging mainly between 17-20knots. The boat performed well. Just the other side of the finish line there was a wind line with no wind on the other side, so the course setter was correct in not taking everyone deep into the bay. HP came first overall. It was a great day on the water, good sailing, good fun.

WED NITE RACE 1of series.

We got a legendary start with lots of speed in a good slot. With a light SW blowing with the occasional puffs the frist leg was a fetch to Landfall, we caught a short ride with the bigger boats and played the puffs well with us making good time to the first mark, the wind died on the downwind with us working and eeking what we could out of the boat on this leg we maintained our position and pulled time on some. The next leg was a beat. Towards the weather mark the weather died on us and headed allowing Majimoto to lift up higher and with their sail combo they had more power and therefore able to sail faster then us. We tacked for the mark and ducked behind Majimoto who had passed us at this stage. We sailed the rest of the leg in a dying shifting breeze. We came second overall. The sailing was excellent as the water was flat. Aboard were Ian, Dale, Siger, Stanley, Tony. Pic was taken by Kirsten Veestra.

CROCS REGATTA
After much contemplation it was decided to enter Crocs Regatta..

Race 1- Double Points- Pursuit race to Bok Point and back.
We got an excellent start, sailed with a dying South Easter with it slowly shifting. A boat behind us siled for the westerlies and got some advantage. Meanwhile the Farr's that started got lots of breeze down the beach so we tried to reach up to try and get it. We could not get into this breeze, so we gybed and sailed the new Westerlies. By the time we got to Big Bay we have to peel in order to clear the rocks for wind angle. We then sailed for way point, peeling back again. Once round Bok Point, the wind staerted increasing with it turing into a tight fetch back to the finish. We managed to come first over the line by about 6-10 boat lenths. We won this race overall on IRC giving us double points..

Race 2- Bay race. Good start, with us doing well on the first half of the beat. nearing the weather weahter mark the wind had all but gone away. As we are a heavier boat we suffered in this condition and even when the wind slowly returned we were unable to make any sort of come back. This race gave us a poor result.

Race 3- Good start, good first beat, yet again the wind died with us struggling to keep going in the fickle conditions. Again a poor result.

Race 4- Average start, wind was at about 25 knots upto about 28. Boat was happy and going well. We made no mistakes on this race, flew the kite on all the downwind legs. While most boats were spinning out and struggling to control, we were happy. We came third.

Overall we came 5th(same points as 4th) if we had finished 2 seconds earler in the last race we would then have come 3rd overall but that is how racing is.

Aboards in total for the event were: Siger, Stefan, Massimo, Walter, Matej, Riaan, Ian, Dennis, Dale, Wayne, Tony

WED NITE RACE:7
Strong breeze(Gusted upto 35knots) we opted to sail with full main and the number three, even though we were light on the rail. We started high up on the line haivng to fetch down to the first mark, this was a mindless leg. The down wind legs were sailed well, with boats spinning out at the gybe mark forcing us to go wide to avoid the "out of controlled". We sailed an excellent beat allowing us to play some catch up.. During the race the main leech lost some stiching so it has gone to the loft ofr repair. On the way up the harbour we assisted a 40 footer by towing them in as they had engine problems. Must say, in gusts of upto 35knts we were still able to tow them at 5 knots... We struggled to enter our own mooring due to the tight turnign area and a gust which caught us at the wrong moment., but no damage. We came 5th, missing second by about 10 seconds. First on IRC. Aboard were: Ian, Dale, Walter, Matej, Assaf, Siger, Massimo, Raphael.

SOME PICS......................

WED Night Race NO:
This was a mundane race, with a fetching course.

HOUT BAY WEEKEND
Hout Bay Trip November 29 - 30
With the Dassen Island cruise cancelled due to no liferaft being on board, it was decided to re-route our weekend cruise to Hout Bay instead, as this does not require the safety of the liferaft to be on board.
We dropped lines at Royal Cape at around 14H00, and headed out into some glorious weather in Table Bay. The wind was 12-15knts WNW, and promised to be a good ride to Hout Bay. Sadly this was not to be, as the wind headed SW,with the approach of a frontal system, that brought with it a fair dose of rain and very poor visibility. We did however encounter quite a few whales off Sandy Bay and Karbonkelberg. The weather lightened up as we approached The Sentinel. We were safely docked in Hout Bay Yacht Club at around 18H30. After squaring the boat away, it was a dash for the clubhouse for a hot coffee (and a shower for Sandy).
After which we went in search of food. First we tried Dirty Dicks, only to find that the building was no longer there! We settled for a dinner at Mariners Wharf.

Sunday morning, breakfast was served aboard, thanks to Sandy. Dale, Bernice and Daniel made an appearance at the marina before we left home. The sails were hosted inside the harbor and we sailed out, as Dale took a pic or two, on our way passed. There was a good 12 knt SE wind blowing, which gave us a steady 8.5 knots out of the bay. The views of seal island and the sentinel being enjoyed by all. Matej tried his hand at the helm, as we rounded the Karbonkelberg and the crane wreck. Once again we were met by the whale brigade, a good twenty plus of them, spread out across the horizon. This time we managed to keep well clear, as we made our passage passed Llanduno and the Twelve Apostles, still maintaining a good 8 knot average. We were tested by a few gusts spinning off the mountain.
As we closed in on Camps Bay, the wind become more and more fickle. I started the motor from about Clifton, as the wind sucked away, for a short motor home. Our return trip, running in at around 2.5 hours. Not Bad ! All in all, a very enjoyable week end.
The crew aboard for this trip, Ian, Walter, Sandy and Matej.

Pics taken by Sandy aboard HocusPocus

VOLVO START
SAT 15th NOV Volvo Ocean Race 2008- 2009 – Leg 2 – Cape Town
All excitement was up as hundreds of supporters made their way through the Table Bay waters to show support for the start of the second leg of the around the world Volvo Ocean Yacht race.
The stream lined beauties glided gracefully through the water at surprising pace given the light breeze, keeping all at awe. With eyes fixed on the majestic yachts, helicopters circled above, broadcasting this phenomenon live around the globe.
The busy shipping lanes and chaotic waters filled with spectators caused postponed start from a scheduled 13.00h till closer to 14.00h.The fluctuating SW blowing approximately at 5 Knots showed signs of some hidden breeze, encouraging teams to do their utmost to ensure a good start.
As the crews bustled for the best position in the final minutes leading to the start, the Puma team managed to pull slightly ahead of the fleet. In what seemed like mere seconds the yachts were out of sight to round the first mark in Blouburg.
Some cunning strategizing was seen as the teams battled to maintain their speed back through Table Bay towards Granger Bay. The wind dropped dramatically to a mere 3 Knots, then lifted again after the yachts passed Granger Bay, as we watched the Volvo yachts leaving the Cape of Good Hope for India, this positive omen set an exciting tone to see who would make it in the fastest time between ports.
Looking at this intrepid journey filled with tactical intrigue, all respect must be given to all the teams. At the mercy of the wind and sea the Volvo Ocean race is undeniably the most demanding and challenging team sporting event in the world.

SAT SOCIAL SAIL-8 Nov
Our usual Satursday sail. Unfortunately the Bay race starts quite early on a Saturday so we were unable to sail. It was blowing in the 30's(Knots) when we left. We decided to take it easy so we put two tucks in the main and the Number 4 was used. The race was finishing as we departed. We did a good sail in the bay and then later decided to sail off to Sea Point where it was calmer. On the way back we decided to sail right upto the club. The top wind speeds were 35knts. The boat performed well. Aboard were: Ian, Walter, Matej, Marko, Siger and Dale.

SAT FUN SAIL-1 Nov 2008
It was dediced in the morning to have a fun sail on the bay. Winds were ranging between 12-18knots, nice flat waters with a SW blowing. Made sure we had plenty of ice aboard. We sailed to Big bay, good leisurely sailing, no probems experieced. Boat was going nicely. Abaord were: Ian, Walter and Dale

PIC....

Pic of HocusPocus aka. BENBA.co.za racing one of the Wednesday night races in about 25knots of winds. This Pic was taken by Kevin Reeves.

WED NITE RACE 3
We were fortunate to have guest this Wed being Massimo from Southern Wind and an Italian, Franco or something similar who is a professional trimmer(who jumped off trhe boat as soon as we docked as he had to ge tto the airport to fly off to a Farr 40 regatta overseas). We experienced light winds which does not bode Well for HP, this with a terrible start pretty much ended any potential of a good result but we did try and claw our way back up the fleet only to be luffed on a reach leg and held in that position for about two minutes by a 50 footer... I think they were scared that a 38 footer could pass them on a reach leg???? Anyway through this manouver lots of boats were able to slip by, thus ending any chance of at least consolidating in the results.
Aboard were: Ian, Dale, Michael, Matej, Walter, Siger, Sandy, Assaf, Tony, MAssimo and Franco(whatever).

WED nite Race:2
Wind was gusting between 18 and about 28.. Feeling in a laxy mood we took a conservative approach and put a reff in the main which we did not really need and a number 3 genoa. We got a good start and a mediocre first leg, on the downwind we suffered as we kept the reef in, good gybe at the wing, the next leg was OK, with the crew getting wet with spray, the last beat gave us the opportunity to make up but we still struggled for power at times.. In the end we came 3rd overall, this means that we are probably currently also 3rd in the series... Aboard were: Ian, Dale, Assaf, Walter, Michael, Matej, Marco and Sandy. Boat performed well, no problems...

SAT SAILING-18 Oct.
We decided to convene some sailing for the general crew to train them further ont he on goings abaord on a Wednesday night race. The conditions for sailing were brilliant giving us about 2.5hours on the water. We focussed on tacks and setting and removal of the spinnaker pole, to pole out the jib. It was a worthy day with everyone getting their hand in. Aboard were: Michael, Matey, Siger, Walter, Assaf, Sandy and Dale. No problems experienced. New Main halyard working great.

WED Nite Race 1(Of Series)
With Summer making its early appearance, the Wednesday night rqcing series has begun. First race started with about 20 knots at the start line. We got a good start and did reasonably well, unfortunately a large cruiser got between us and the bouy with no way of us passing them. We rounded the weather mark and tried to sail low but this did not pay in the end. Good gybe at the wing mark, on the next leg we were enroute to a shipping chanel mark, we saw ship approaching, some boats decided to cut it's bow. We decided that this was poor seamanship and already the ship had deviated away from the channel, pressumably in response to those going over it's bow. We decided to duck behing the ship which cost us in additional distance, making a catch up of the boats ahead of us not possible and shortening our distance of those behind us... We bore away almost onto a run and hardened up behind the ship and went straight for the mark. At the mark we were barged by a larger boat(They did apologise for it later) it was then a beat to the finish with us ducking one or two commercial boats which effected our strategy. In the end we still got a 4th on corrected time. Aboard were: Ian, dale, Rory, Siger, Walter, Sandy, Michael, Matej, Assaf. Boat performed well, we stripped the outer core on the main halyard which will be replaced before the boat is sailed again.

WED NITE FUN RACE
Wednesday night racing has started for the 2008-2009 season.

08/10/2008
Crew aboard: Ian, Micheal, Siger, Sandy, Gavin, Toni and Nick.

Our first race was a lovely sail. The wind was SE 10 - 14 knts at the start, but soon dropped to around 2 - 5 knts and became incredibly shifty, with shifts of upto 40 - 50 degrees on the first beat to Paarden Island mark. At the mark the wind freshened slightly from the South East. We rounded hot on the heals of the Stretched Farr Perriwinkel, The Oyster 39 Touch & Go and the Fast 42 Maestro. The reach saw us hanging in with the bigger boats quite nicely. Which saw us all at the Milneton mark at the same time. Perriwinkel, Touch & Go on the inside of us and Maestro on our outside quarter. On the fetch to No. 2, Perriwinkel lead the pack, followed by Hocus Pocus as we had overhauled Touch & Go, with Maestro still behind us. The wind was sitting at 15 knts. We held our position until a little over halfway up the fetch, when Maestro eventually passed us to weather, and kindly offered us a tow, which we gladly took advantage of, for as long as we could.
Approaching No.2 mark, Perriwinkel was squeezed out by Maestro at the mark. Which saw her luff up and miss the mark and head back at us. She then tried tacking back, which then stalled them square across our bow just before the mark. We took avoiding action by ducking their transom and set about rounding the mark. Sandy at this point got over eager pulling in the main entering the rounding and almost saw us parked on the mark, as the boat tried to power up the beat early. Luckily I managed to free the mainsheet,and we eased over the edge of the mark without touching it. This left us dead in the water for a few seconds and allowed Touch & Go to capitalise on the situation, as she rounded in side us and passed us. Perriwinkel was still behind us as we started the beat to the finish. The final beat saw us hanging in there with Touch & Go . There were a few shifts in the breeze on the final beat, which saw the boats split coarses. We ended up finishing just behind Periwinkel and Touch & Go.
Overall, a most pleasant sail, enjoyed by all aboard.
We ended up 3rd in Class 1 on handicap. Not bad considering we had not officially entered the race!

DOUBLE HANDED RACE-Sat 4th october 2008
The new season is upon us, first event being the Double handed for HP. This one being crewed by Dale and Dennis. The start took place in a 20knot Southerly with flat seas, by the time we reached the outfall the conditions were light and flukey which remained that way until Clifton, the conditions were a bit of a lottery, after Cliftin the Southerly came through leaving us to beat the rest of the way with an uncomfotable chop and winds upto 25knots. We finished 3rd overall. Looking at the weather forcast and the size of the fleet we realized that the chances for a return racve on the Sunday was slim, so we decided to round the pin mark of the finish line and sail back to CT. This was by far a really enjoyable sail, with the sailing being very fast. We sailed 95% of this leg with the self steering engaged as we wanted to test the heavy reaching ability in a seaway. We were suitably impressed.(Both Dennis and Dale downstairs packing the code 0)

SOCIAL SAIL-26 Sept
The boat had not been out for a few weeks as it was decided to do some work on the motor which was not completed on time. Anyway, the motor now has new injector tips, recalibrated fuel fuel distributor, overhauled starter motor and a full comprehensive service.. All good to go.
Social sail too place with a SW blowing giving a fast sail to Murray bay, on the way back a SE was picked up with a beat back in about 20knots... All went well aboard. Aboard were: Ian, Michael, MAtej, Walter, Assaf.

WINTER SERIES- Race 1
Nice southerly, between 15-20 knots but on flat water. The water colour was that beutifull green. Unfortunately we could muster only 4 for aboard for this race, one of which was a beginner on a keelboat. There were 16 starters on the start line.We got away to a good start and a good first leg. We decided to take it conservatiley downwind as we were shorthanded so we used the 1.5oz downwind. We handeled the downwind legs very well and made good(if not tight) layline calls upwind. We struggled for speed upwind due to us being light on the rail but probably made that up with good calls and fast downwind legs. In the end we came first overall..... Aboard were Ian, Walter, Rory(Beginner) and Dale

ROBBEN ISLAND RACE 28/06
This was a pursuit race. 51 entries which just goes to show that everyone loves meduim distance pusuit. We started with Freedon in a light southerly, we timed it well and got off to a good start. The wind was starting to fill in over the bay with lots of holes everywhere. We had to reach up slighttly to the coastline to pick up the wind. We slowly worked our way to the Island without much gain. We could sense a wind shift and gybed, with the wind filling in shortly afterwards with us power reaching for the corner of the island. We arrive there at about the same time as everyone else. We peeled to the Code 0 which in hindsight could have been done later. We sailed around the island with us shifting to the headsail. The larger boats which came with the new breeze were quick to overhaul the fleet here. We tacked in close to the island to pick up the local shifts. As we worked our way into the bay, we decided to shift gears with our genoa, this cost us a bit of time. The rest of the beat was saile dfully powered, which the boat enjoys. We probably read one or two shifts incorrectly but it would have been unlikely we would have caught back any positions at that stage. We can tenth overall which, while not our normal good position did not reflect an enjoyable race which was had by all abaord. Aboard were: Ian, Michael V, MAtej, Siger, Greg H, Mark D, Tony, Dale. No problems experienced.

SOCIAL SAIL-22 June 2008
Usual Sunday afternoon sail. Wind was quite light, upto about ten knots. Sea fairly flat with a NW. Nice sail, sailed past Milnerton. We were fogged in for the return leg which was not a problem. Nice navigation excercise(OK, we used technology instead). Boat worked well. Decided to have the engine serviced etc.. as it has been a while. This will be done in the next week or two.
Aboard were Michael, Matej and Dale.

SOCIAL SAILING-1 June 2008
Light Southerly was blowing. It was just a leisurely Sunday afternoon sail. Aboard were: Ian, Michael V, Matej, Siger and Dale. The water was flat, it was a perfect afternnon for a sail. Boat worked well.

DOUBLE HANDED RACE -24 May 2008
Very light breeze at the start. Unfortunately we were monitoring the wrong channel which we only realized in the final five minutes which meant that we were not set up for an ideal start with us starting on the wrong end of the line a bit off the line and having to dip some slower starboarders. We were underpowered on the beat. We managed a good hoist at the weather mark(o.5oz) and sailed down playing the shifts by gybing which helped us. We did a legendery drop on the leeward mark, a full crew could not have done it better. Again we struggled for power on the beat but tactically we had pulled away from Touch and go, later on there was a wind shift putting them on the right hand side of it so we were quite a bit behind. We managed to catch up on the downwind by playing the shifts and puffs with us finishing just 1 boat lenth behind then. The small boats were not too far behind in these conditions and tehy were being sailed extremely well. We came 3rd on line and 4th on corrected time. Dale and Ian were aboard. The boat worked well with no problems.

EXTERIOR PICS

For those who are wanting to get a glimpse on some of the exteriro shots of HocusPocus. These pics were taken with a cell phone on a miserable wet wintery cape day so please excuse the quality.